Next Game: vs. Western Illinois
The University of North Dakota men's basketball team will look to make it two straight wins at home and five straight overall against Western Illinois on Friday night from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Fans can catch all the action on MidcoSN 2 with Alex Heinert and Zachary Dosch or tune into Paul Ralston on the Home of Economy Radio Network. 

Series History vs. Western Illinois
This will be the 10th all-time meeting between North Dakota and Western Illinois, with UND holding a 6-3 advantage in the series. After UND won the first two meetings in 1967, the Western Illinois captured three straight meetings in 1980 and 2011, but the Hawks are a perfect 4-0 against WIU since joining the Summit League in 2018-19. 

Halftime!
UND is halfway through the conference season entering this weekend, and has taken on some of the top teams in the league through the opening eight games. The Hawks have battled three of the current top-four teams in the league standings, with those trio of teams combining for a 17-3 record. UND handed those opponents two of the three losses, with the other coming from Kansas City, UND's other first half foe. 

Over the final eight games of conference play, the Hawks will battle a trio of currently winless teams in league action as well as unbeaten South Dakota. 

Swiper Yes Swipe
Since moving into league play, UND has become one of the best teams when it comes to forcing turnovers and swiping away the ball. In eight conference games, the Hawks sit fourth in the Summit League at 5.13 steals per game and have recorded six-or-more steals in three of those contests, including a season-matching best nine at SDSU on Jan. 22.

This Time, You're Eating At Arby's
After spending most of last season near the bottom of the league in turnovers per game, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio, UND has drastically improved those numbers in 2020-21. During league play, the Hawks are fourth in turnover margin with a 1.13 mark and fifth in assist/turnover ratio at 0.97. 

Defense Improving During Conference Play
Despite facing the four-best shooting offenses in the league through the opening eight games of conference play, the Hawks have improved their overall defense so far. UND, who ranks eighth in the league overall in field goal defense at .477, has risen all the way to fifth at .468 during conference play. 

FULL GAME NOTES CAN BE FOUND HERE